The Convention
by Richard Ryley
Summary: Ranma and Akane awaken in a hotel room with no knowledge of how they got there or who is responsible. But why does Ranma's curse turn him into Ukyo? And why is there ANOTHER Ranma and Akane in the room next door? Multi-universe crossover insanity. :D
1. Chapter 1

"The Convention"

by Richard Ryley

Chapter 1

Akane Tendo awoke to find herself in complete darkness. Immediately, she cast out with her other senses, to compensate for her blindness, and easily sensed that things were not quite right. She was a martial artist, after all, and she had an awareness of herself and her surroundings, even if it was largely self-trained. Her first thought was that her bed felt subtly different under her body, it was somewhat more solid and not contoured to her body by years of use. The sheets over her were very clean, but had a somewhat sanitized smell to them, not the fresh and homey smell of Kasumi's washing.

The second thing she noted was soft breathing nearby. She knew it was Ranma, from long experience with his voice, not that she had often had the chance to hear him sleeping. She also heard a somewhat distant thrumming of air conditioning, and the soft breeze she felt also told her that the air in the room was artificially circulated.

Sitting up, Akane tried to take stock of her surroundings. There were no windows, and no source of light at all, so she could see nothing. Blindly, she reached around and located the wall at her head, then followed it to the edge of the bed. Groping around, she located a nightstand and a lamp, which she turned on.

She was in some sort of a hotel room. She was in a double bed, as was Ranma Saotome, although thankfully they were not in the same bed. Not that she minded the thought, as she had grown rather fond of her reluctant fiance', but they were hardly ready for that. They had come to accept that they had grudgingly developed feelings for each other, but had agreed to put that aside. It would only be a complication to the plan. And there was plenty of time to explore the possibilities after they graduated.

Thoughts of the plan brought back up old, well ingrained habits. She scanned the room for any sign of eavesdropping or bugs. There didn't seem to be any, but their very presence here was in and of itself suspicious. Setting a scowl of irritation and disgust onto her face, she got out of bed to walk over to the pigtailed boy.

"Ranma! What are you doing in a bedroom with me, you pervert! Did you sneak me off to some love hotel or something? You jerk!"

She grabbed her fiance' and shook him, roughly. She kept this up for several seconds, knowing it would take some force to wake the boy up. Finally, Ranma blearily looked around. His eyes widening as he realized he was laying in a bed and not his futon, he suddenly sat up, crawling away from her across the bed.

"Akane! What am I doin' in your room! I didn't mean to, honest! I dunno how I got here!"

Akane clobbered him over the head. "We're not in my room, baka! Look around, we're in some hotel!"

He did so, and his confusion deepened as he studied the room. Looking back at Akane, he caught her smile at him. "I going to beat you to death, Ranma, for taking me to a place like this! You BAKA!" She put just enough emphasis on the word for him to interpret it as their 'code word'. "Thought you could get me alone to have your pervert way with me?"

"Honest, Akane, it's not what you think!" Ranma protested, but it was more to keep the noise going as he shuffled out of bed. He gestured with his eyes at the bathroom, and Akane nodded. "I dunno how we got here, I swear. It's not like I'd ever do anything with an uncute tomboy like you!"

"UNCUTE?" At her cue, Akane swung at him with all her strength, a wild punch that only barely connected with him, but still sent him reeling. Back towards the bathroom. "Come back here, you baka!" Akane yelled, chasing him as he made his retreat.

Inside the bathroom, they closed the door, and grinned at each other. "Think the bathroom's safe?" Ranma asked in a low whisper.

"I guess we can't really be sure, but we've got to take a chance. What do you think's going on here?"

Ranma looked around. "I don't remember coming to some hotel. Do you?" When Akane shook her head, Ranma added, "Last thing I remember, I was goin' to sleep in my room at home."

"Same here," Akane agreed. "Do you think maybe Nabiki dragged us off here? Thinking if she got us alone, we'd end up doing something, and she'd get film of it?"

Ranma shook his head, irritated. "I dunno. I wouldn't put it past her, but I dunno."

"Do you think maybe she's catching on to the plan? That she knows we've been faking it all this time?"

"I don't think so. She's never caught on before. It's more likely either she or our Pops arranged this to try and get us alone together."

Akane sighed. "Well, we can't act like we're being watched 24 hours a day. It's nerve wracking enough acting that way when we know that the family is around. I dunno if I can do it in an empty hotel room with no one around but you and me..."

"Let's just play it by ear, tomboy," Ranma put a hand on Akane's shoulder, with a gentle emphasis of his petname for her, just as she had done for him. She smiled happily at him. "We gotta have been brought here for some reason, so we gotta be on guard anyway."

* * *

><p>In the room right next door to the one Akane and Ranma awakened in, another Ranma awakened. Although this was very much Ranma Saotome, still this was a very different Ranma Saotome. And the awakening was very different as well. For one thing, he had not been as soundly asleep, as the light in the room had been on for some time, and he had slowly been coming back to consciousness on his own. For another, rather than Akane Tendo shaking him and screaming at him for being a pervert, he was awakened by the warmth of her lips pressing against his own.<p>

Ranma blinked the sleep out of his eyes, and looked up into the cute face of his short haired fiancee. She grinned at him happily. Ranma regarded her with a raised eyebrow. "And what do you mean by waking me up with a kiss, you uncute tomboy?"

Akane blew a hair out of her face. She was already dressed, in a blue dress that Ranma thought looked adorable on her. "You were asleep long enough, lazybones, and I figured it was time to wake up. Your sister's already up."

"Ucchan?" Ranma sat up, looking around the room. Confusion registered on his face as he took in his surroundings. He could hear the sound of a shower running from the bathroom.

He then looked down at the bed in which he was lying. He glanced up at Akane, raising an eyebrow again. She smirked at him. "No, pervert, we didn't wake up in the same bed together. Apparently, Ukyo and I shared that bed," She tilted her head at the other bed. "But no, we have no idea how we got here."

Ranma immediately jumped to alert mode, although he could sense no immediate danger. "No windows. Why would a hotel room not have any windows?"

"And no TV either," Akane commented. "It's definitely strange. I can only guess we've been brought here for some reason. A tournament, maybe? It's not like we get kidnapped all the time..."'

"What does Sis have to say? Anything feel weird in the environment?"

Akane shook her head. "She did say something about sensing weird 'echoes' from around us, but like me, she can't really sense any danger. Everything's actually kind of... familiar."

Ranma nodded. He could sense it too. There was definitely a feeling of confusion in the air, and worry and concern, but more curiosity than anything else. He was just about to tune his ki to see if he could sense even further, when he suddenly looked at the door. Akane echoed his movement.

There was a knock. There was a short pause, and then another knock, followed by a woman's voice, saying, "Is anyone in there? I... I seem to be kind of lost and I'd kind of like a guide to the lobby if that's all right."

Ranma glanced at Akane, and then stepped quickly to the door. Looking back to make sure he was between her and anything that might threaten his fiancee, he answered. "Hold on a moment." He noted there was no peephole in the door, so taking a deep breath to prepare himself, he opened the door.

To his utter shock, a redheaded girl stood on the other side of the door. Ukyo's cursed form. "Sis?" he asked. Akane's mouth fell open.

The girl looked at him, and her blue eyes widened. "Ranma! Wow, you... what are you doing here?"

"That's impossible!" Akane shouted. "Ukyo's in the shower! I saw her!"

As Ranma sized up the red haired girl, his alarm jumped several notches, although oddly he still didn't sense any danger. The girl was dressed oddly for Ukyo, wearing a teal sweater that was very complementary to her hair, and a knit beret. She was also wearing silver earrings and a charm bracelet. For Ukyo, it would be shockingly feminine, and the girl didn't carry herself like Ukyo either.

To Ranma's further astonishment, though, coming up behind her was... Akane! Another Akane! He glanced back at the girl behind him, then at the black haired girl in the hall. She was staring back at him, a look of shock and astonishment on her face that probably matched his own. Coming up behind HER was, of all people, Ryoga.

"What the heck is going on?" Ranma yelled. Then he suddenly took off running back into the room. He pulled open the door to the bathroom, stepping inside. Startled, Ukyo wrapped her arms around herself. She was in the shower, and the water was obviously hot as she was in her normal form.

"Ranchan! What are you doing?" Ukyo turned red.

"Sorry, Sis." Ranma looked away from her, and turned to see the red haired girl as she came up behind him. "There's this girl here who looks just like your cursed form."

"What are you talking about, Ranma?" The redheaded girl asked. "You know me... I'm Ranko, remember?"

"Huh?" Ranma just stared at her. He had the presence of mind to keep his guard up, but he did note that the girl wasn't threatening him.

She looked back at Akane. "Surely YOU remember me, Akane?" She held up her wrist, showing her the charm bracelet. At the blank look on the dark haired girl's face, she frowned. "What the hell is wrong with you two?"

At that moment, Ryoga had reached the bathroom as well, and Ukyo shrieked and wrapped the shower curtain around herself. "Ryoga, you pig! Get out of here!"

Ryoga turned red and rapidly turned around. As he did, Ukyo slipped in her attempt to cover herself up and almost fell out of the shower. She grabbed the shower handle to catch herself, and twisted it, turning the water cold. She almost instantly shrank down into a petite, busty redhead, and a few seconds later, the spray from the water caught Ranma, and he turned into a lanky, ponytailed girl with brown hair.

The red haired girl stared at the two of them in shock, her mouth falling open. She looked at Ukyo's cursed form, then down at her own body. Then she looked over at Ranma, now looking like Ukyo. "Uc.. Ucchan?"

There was a long, long moment of silence. The two Akanes had stopped next to each other, and were staring, wide eyed. Ryoga was staring at the both of them. The redhead in the shower managed to regain her footing and shut off the water, at which time she just stood there, dripping.

Finally, the redheaded girl who had called herself Ranko put a hand to her temple. "You're... you're not the Ranma I met before."

"Huh?" said Ranma again. It wasn't helping much, but it was the best he could do.

She turned away from the doorway. "I... uh... I met another version of me... Ranma... from another universe. I'm... I'm a version of Ranma that was born a girl. You... you obviously are another Ranma. There... there must be... there could be thousands of alternate worlds, I guess. Who knows how many of... us there are."

"You're... you're..." The girl who now had Ukyo's face stared at Ranko. "You're me? A girl... a girl me?"

Ranko nodded. "Maybe you'd better change back. I'll give ya some privacy, Ucchan. Sorry about this." She stepped out of the bathroom, closing the door behind her.

The Akane that had come in with Ranko looked at her. She was wearing a yellow gi, which the other Akane recognized as one she wore all the time. "So... this isn't the Akane you met before?"

Ranko looked up at her sister's double. "Nah, Sis... although this is an Akane. So... uh... I guess you're Ranma's fiance?" She asked the stunned girl.

"Uh... yeah," Akane agreed. "We're not exactly happy about it, but..." She took a deep breath. "Oh, who am I fooling? We both really love each other. Just don't tell our fathers that." She grinned at the redhead.

Ranko grinned back at her. As she did, the other Akane suddenly started. "Sis! That other Ranma called Ukyou Sis! I guess she's his sister here instead of me..."

"Oh, yeah! That makes sense." She glanced back at the bathroom door, just as it opened. Ranma came out, looking a bit shell shocked. He had changed out of the undershirt and shorts he had been sleeping in, and was now wearing his usual red and black outfit.

"I'm sorry about the confusion, Ranma," Ranko said. "I just assumed since you were a Ranma, you were the one I met before."

"ANOTHER Ranma?" Ranma asked.

Ranko nodded, glancing at her Akane. She was staring at the male Ranma wide-eyed, as if she couldn't tear her eyes away from him. "I met him about four years ago, when I was pulled into his world by a wish. He and his Akane helped me get back."

"What... what was that Ranma like?" Akane asked, the one in the blue dress who was here with her male Ranma.

Ranko turned to look at her. "He turns into me... well, my body. This red haired form." She gestured at herself. "Ukyou doesn't have a curse in my world, and she didn't in that one either... or if she did, she didn't change while I was around.

The Akane in blue had noticed her double's open mouth stare. "Hey, quit staring at MY Ranma!" The jealousy in her voice was unmistakable.

The other Akane shook her head, as if startled out of her thoughts. Then she blushed and looked away. "I'm sorry... it's been so long..." She looked back at Ranma again, and shuddered. "You're... I'm sorry, but you're bringing up some... uncomfortable memories." She seemed to shake off her mood, but then looked confused as she noticed the anger in her duplicate's eyes.

"It's okay, Sis," Ranko said. "I had the same reaction when I saw him... well, the other Ranma anyway." She looked back at her sister's twin. "In my world, Sis and I have known each other since we were four. So you don't have to worry about it, Akane. I'm sure my Akane's just as freaked out by seeing a male me as you are by seeing a girl version of your Ranma."

That seemed to appease Akane a bit. "Well, to me... it's weird because to me you look like Ukyo's cursed form. But... aren't you just Ranma in... in a girl's body?"

Ranko shook her head. "I AM a girl, Akane. I was born a girl. I... I even like guys, like any woman would." She cut her eyes at Ryoga, and he returned her smile, but Ranma and Akane mostly missed it over their mutual look of disgust. Ranko giggled, though, which caused the two to start even more. "The other Akane was bothered by it, too, but don't be. I'm pretty sure your Ranma's just as much a man as I am a woman."

"So, the Jusenkyo Guide was right." Akane looked up at Ranma. "Ucchan does turn into a female version of you. This is... a female version of you, standing right here."

Ranko nodded. Then she looked back at Ranma. "How in the world did you end up turning into Ucchan?"

"We fell into the Spring of Drowned Girl at the same time. The spring makes me turn inta her, and her turn into a female me."

"Ah, that makes sense." Ranko nodded, and then her eyes widened as a thought occurred to her. "Wait, that means she was travelling with you. Did Pops not abandon her when we were six?"

"He tried, but I wouldn't let him."

Ranko shot her counterpart a sunny smile, although there was a hint of sadness in her eyes. "Good. I've always felt really guilty about that. It's nice to know that there's a world where I didn't make that mistake."

Ranma snorted his agreement. Then he glanced over at Ryoga. "So what's your story, Pork Butt? What are you doing here?"

Ranko noticed as Akane turned a glare of irritation and distrust on Ryoga. She also noticed what Ranma had called him and put two and two together. She glanced at her Akane, knowing that she knew the secret, but her counterpart in that other world hadn't. She wondered what was different about this Akane that she would be so angry.

"I'm Ranko's fiance'," Ryoga said proudly.

"WHAT!" Ranma and Akane both said, simultaneously. A third voice added its chorus as well, as Ukyo had just stepped out of the bathroom.

"You're engaged to... you're engaged to... ME?" Ranma stared at Ryoga incredulously, his face turning green.

"You!" Akane snapped, her expression exploding into rage. "You went after Ranma, after what you did to me? You... you..."

Ukyo looked ready to strangle him as well. Ranko quickly interceded, moving quickly to put herself between these strange duplicates and the man she loved. "Hey, hold on! I know Ryouga and I had some problems a long time ago, and I'm sure you guys had the same problems too! But that's all over with! Ryouga has changed, and I love him now. So I won't let you hurt him! You got that!"

As she made that last statement, Ranko had started to glow, and Ranma drew back a bit, surprised at the intensity of her battle aura. She reached up to pat Ryoga's shoulder, though. "Honey, go get me a glass of water, okay?"

Ryoga nodded and headed into the bathroom. In the meantime, Ranko turned to face Ryoga's three accusers. "I know it bothers you to think of Ryouga and a version of you together, Ranma, your counterpart from that other world felt the same way. But Ryouga's really nothing like he used to be. He's good, and kind, and since he started caring for me instead of hating his 'Ranma' and blaming all his troubles on him, he's been happy. He doesn't get depressed any more. And he forgave me for what I did."

As Ryoga walked back to her, he handed her a paper cup. She grinned at him, and then threw the water in his face. Ranma, Akane and Ukyo gasped, as Ryoga transformed into a slender, black haired, and very beautiful young girl.

Akane and Ukyo stared at each other, their mouths falling open. "He... he turns into a girl?"

Ranko nodded. "I cursed him. He blamed me for it, for the longest time. But when he started to feel like MY curse was worse than his, he forgave me. And I forgave him." She smiled up at Ryoga, and he kissed her.

Ranma tried not to gag at that. But he breathed a sigh and shook his head. "Sorry. Ryoga turns inta somethin' else in our world."

Ranko stepped a bit closer to him. "Ixnay on the igpay. My Akane knows, but she only found out about two years ago, and it's still kinda a sensitive subject..."

Ranma's eyes widened. "You mean... he did?" He seemed to grow violently angry, like his Akane had. "And you still ended up with the..."

Suddenly, Ranma felt his own Akane's hand on his shoulder. He looked over at her. "Do you remember what I told him, Ranma?" She said gently. "That I would forgive him, if he forgave you?"

Ranma nodded. Akane continued, her voice low. "It looks like this Ryoga did." She glanced at Ryoga, not smiling at the girl, but with a look of understanding and gratitude. "I wish our Ryoga could meet you."

Stepping back, she spoke back in her normal voice. "Our Ryoga was a very hateful person, and he did some... very cruel things to Ukyo and me. I know it wasn't you that did those things, Ryoga, and even our Ryoga... I still hope to forgive him some day. I apologize for my reaction." She bowed.

Ranko smiled. "Thank you, Akane. I can always count on you to see the good in everyone."

Both Akanes smiled at that. Ranma shot his a smirk. "Except in me, of course, you uncute tomboy."

"You have no good qualities, baka," Akane shot back, but she was grinning widely. Their counterparts from Ranko's world smiled as well, easily seeing their teasing for what it was.

"So..." Ukyo put in. "What exactly are we doing here? I'm guessing you guys have no more idea of how you got here than we do?"

The mood quickly turned somber. "You all just woke up here, after falling asleep in your own homes?" Ranko asked. They all nodded their confirmation.

"Then there's got to be a reason we're all here, and it can't be a coincidence that we're the same people... or at least, Ranma and Akane are the same people, and we're... well, Ranma's fiance and sister, respectively." She said the last to Ryoga.

"What happened the last time you met another Ranma?" Akane asked Ranko. "Was there someone behind it?"

"Some prince named Willie," Ranko said. "Although I'm not sure if he's involved this time."

"Well, let's look around this place," Ukyo said. "Maybe we can find some people who know what's going on."

"That was my thought," Ranko said. "And then I found you. Didn't answer any questions, it just gave me more..."

The group filed outside, stopping a moment to look at a sign next to the door, out in the hall. It read, "The Saotome Sisters."

"That's interesting," Ukyo commented. "I guess we are the Saotome Sisters, Ranchan, you and I."

"I am NOT your sister!" Ranma growled.

"Sometimes you are." Ukyo grinned at him, as Ranma continued to scowl.

"There was a sign like that next to our door," Ranko said, gesturing at the next room down the hall. "It said, 'Genma's Daughter'. Which I am. So that seems to fit."

"What does it mean?" the Akane in blue asked.

Ukyo thought for a moment. "Maybe... some way to categorize us? A way of referencing which universe we come from?"

Ranma looked down the hall. It was somewhat plain, bare white, and unnervingly, seemed to stretch on for a great distance. "Could each of these rooms be... another universe?"

"Or even... another US..." Ranko looked a bit pale.

"Oh, wow..." her Akane commented. Then she smiled. "Well, actually, I had always wanted to meet the other me than you met on your trip. Maybe she will be here."

Ranko brightened, "Yeah, and the other Ranma might be here as well. It will be nice to see him again."

Ranma's Akane snickered. "You're Ranma all right. You've got so much of an ego you're looking forward to meeting yourself."

Both Ranko and Akane laughed, while Ranma pouted. Ukyo elbowed him. They continued down the hall to the next door, which was labeled, "A Little Different."

"That's you, baka," Akane commented. "A little different."

"Cut it out, tomboy," Ranma protested. But Akane leaned up and kissed him. Suddenly Ranko and her Akane were the ones turning green.

Ranma knocked on the door. There was silence from the room for a moment, and then a male voice calling out, "Just a minute!" Then the door was opened.

On the other side of the door was another Ranma. He looked up at the Ranma standing outside the door, and then at the red headed girl standing next to him. With a shriek of alarm, he sprang back into a defensive pose. Even though most of the group outside in the hall had been expecting it, it was still such a shock that they just stared with their mouths open.

"Oh, yeah," Ukyo grumbled. "I can see how this is gonna go."

* * *

><p>Author's Notes:<p>

As you have probably guessed by now, this story comes from an idea I had about the various versions of Ranma from fanfiction all meeting each other. This idea was born mainly from reading "Equal Halves", the story where Ranko from "Genma's Daughter" meets her counterpart in the canon, and "Definitions of Hell", where Richard Lawson's male and female Ranmas meet each other. There is a line in "Equal Halves" where Akane envisions millions of alternate universes, each potentially with their own Ranma. While I don't have enough time for millions of Ranmas to meet, :) I thought it might be interesting for some of the most distinct and different to encounter each other.

Of course, I began with the Ranma and Akane from my own two fanfictions, "A Little Different", and "The Saotome Sisters". I thought this would start it out "close to home", so to speak. "Genma's Daughter" was the obvious choice for the third in this first chapter, as it is very much the inspiration for my own fanfictions, and Ranko would have already encountered another Ranma, and be different enough from him to make her story of alternate realities more credible. I at first toyed with the idea of only using Ranma, or only Ranma and Akane, but then I realized that "Saotome Sisters" is too much a trio story to leave either of the three out, and this would also make it so I don't have to choose between Ranko's Akane or her Ryoga.

Some universes will only have two representatives, (such as "A Little Different") or even one, for fanfics where Ranma or Akane has died and left their partner alone. I certainly intend to throw in some stories where Ranma is paired with Ukyo or Shampoo, but I since my own stories feature the Ranma/Akane pairing, and so do most of the stories I tend to like, it will probably be a while before any alternate pairings show up.

While I'm going to be vague about "A Little Different", it takes place some time after the two chapters I posted, when Akane and Ranma are much closer, but still keeping up the charade to stall for time until they graduate. They are in love, though, they've just agreed not to talk about it. Ranma, Akane and Ukyo are from after "The Saotome Sisters" reaches its planned end, and so there may be some spoilers here. Ranma and Akane have admitted their feelings to each other and tend to kiss and otherwise act as lovers, but are still saving themselves for marriage. They have also learned the truth about P-chan's identity, so that gives away that the secret will get out in "Saotome Sisters". (Although I won't say how)

As for "Genma's Daughter", while Akane doesn't know P-chan's secret in that story or "Equal Halves", she does in "Notes from Juliard", so I decided to set it after that story as well. This makes Ranko a bit older than the others, although I'm vague about how much time has passed since "Saotome Sisters" (probably about two years) "Notes from Juliard" takes place five years after the timeframe of the canon. (That is, Ranko is 21) Particularly observant readers may note that Ranko and her Akane include the trailing "u" in Ryouga and Ukyou when they are speaking, to stay true to that story, even though I don't use that convention myself.


	2. Chapter 2

"The Convention"

Chapter 2

Ranma warily walked out of the bathroom into the room he had awakened in. He looked it over carefully for bugs or cameras, as Akane had, but there were none. Of course, if he looked more obviously, he would give away that he was suspicious, but he decided that would be normal under the circumstances. He went ahead and checked under the bed and behind the curtains. He then looked in the dresser, and found that both he and Akane had a supply of clothes available. Their own clothes, and enough for four or five days from the looks of it.

He pursed his lips, not happy about the idea that someone intended for him to be here for almost a week. Akane had joined him, walking out of the bathroom, and pushed him away from her side of the dresser with a scowl. Ranma grinned mischievously as she selected something to wear, and then headed back into the bathroom to change out of her yellow pajamas. She could stay in them for all he cared, Ranma liked those pajamas, although he wasn't going to risk life and limb by saying that.

Still grinning, Ranma picked out an outfit for himself. He changed his undershirt and shorts (no sense encouraging Akane to call him a pig) and then continued dressing, making sure Akane had the door to the bathroom closed, of course. As he was finishing getting dressed, there was a knock on the door.

"Just a minute!" he called out. He hurried to the door, and opened it, only to see a black haired boy with a short ponytail standing out in the hall, staring at him. He was even wearing the same red silk Chinese shirt and black pants Ranma was. With his mouth open, Ranma looked to his side, to see a red haired girl who looked identical to his female half. Only, she was wearing an outfit he wouldn't be caught DEAD wearing...

Ranma jumped back into the room. "Akane! Don't come out! There's some kinda craziness goin' on out here with doubles a' me!"

Of course, Akane came running right out of the bathroom, totally ignoring Ranma's concern for her. Ranma sighed. Crazy tomboy...

"Hold on," the other Ranma said, holding up his hands. "We're not here to hurt ya. We just wanna talk. Maybe figger out what's going on..."

The red headed girl nodded. Her voice was much more controlled than the guy's, and she was using feminine speech. "That's right. We appear to be different versions of you from alternate universes. None of us know how we got here. We were hoping you might know something."

There was then another voice from out in the hall. The crowd outside turned to face it. "What's goin' on here? Why do you guys look like me?"

Ranma and Akane stepped up to the door, to look out past their guests. They saw another Ranma and Akane, standing between them and another door further down the hall. This Ranma and Akane were dressed very differently from Ranma and his double, though. They were both dressed in blue, and their outfits were identical. They even both had the same pigtail.

"Whoa," said one of the girls out in the hall. "That's a new look for me." For the first time it registered that this was another pair of girls that looked identical to Akane. One was wearing a blue dress, while the other had on a gi. Ranma turned to look back at his Akane, who was looking from one to another of her three duplicates, her mouth hanging open.

There was a moment of silence, and then the red haired girl in the green sweater looked back at Ranma, the Ranma inside the room. "Do you mind if we all come inside? Maybe it would be a good idea to all sit down and talk." The way she spoke sounded so much like Kasumi it was spooky.

"Uh... yeah, sure..." Ranma stepped back from the door. "It ain't like it's my house or nuthin'. It's just a hotel room."

The three groups filed in, joining the fourth Ranma and Akane inside the room. Ukyo took a moment to satisfy her curiosity and darted down the hall, just far enough to see the sign next to the door the newcomers had come from. It read "Side By Side". Unsure what she could gather based on that title, Ukyo returned to the room with her friends.

As Ukyo entered, closing the door behind her, the redhead spoke. "So... as I said, we all seem to be from different parallel universes. I've run into this before, so I kind of have some experience with it."

The Ranma from the "Side By Side" room peered at her curiously. "'Scuse me, lady, but who are you, exactly? I mean, I know Ucchan and Ryoga here, but I ain't never met you..."

Both the other two Ranmas and the red haired girl stated at him like he had grown another head. "What do you mean you don't know me? I'm you!"

"Huh?" Ranma, as always, was quite eloquent when confused.

"Oh, I get it," commented the Ranma who shared Ukyo's form. "You turn into someone else, like I turn inta Sis. Who do you turn into?"

The pigtailed Akane gasped. "You don't turn into me?"

The Akane in blue gasped herself, and put a hand to her mouth. "Your Ranma turns into YOU?"

Her Ranma looked down at her. There was a moment of silence, while she stood there with her eyes wide. Her voice had gotten very strained, and she was starting to shiver. "Hey, tomboy, you okay? You look freaked out." He put an arm around her.

Akane looked up at him, took a shuddering breath, and then giggled. "Yeah... I suppose it would have to happen somewhere, huh?"

She held Ranma for a moment, pressing tightly against him, while he kissed her on the ear. "Sorry, Ranma." She whispered. "I forgot how much that worried me."

"Hey... it's okay. You know I'd never hurt you..."

The identical Ranma and Akane had watched this whole exchange. "Who... who do you turn into?" Akane asked her double, quietly.

She looked up. "I don't have a curse. Ucchan does. I... I've thought about it. What it must be like for her." She shivered. "It... it scares me."

The pigtailed Akane took her double in her arms as well. "It's okay. It was scary at first, but Ranma loves me. And... Akane..." She tipped the other Akane's chin up. "I turn into him. So he knows how I feel."

"You... you do?" Akane's eyes had gotten wide. Her Ranma swallowed.

"Wow." Ukyo commented. "So you and your Akane turn into each other. My Ranchan and I turn into each other." She glanced at their two 'hosts' of the room. "So what about you two?"

Ranma shrugged. "I turn inta her," He pointed at Ranko. "Akane don't have a curse, thank God."

Ukyo nodded. "And you turn into a girl." She pointed at Ryoga, and the Ranma and Akane from this room looked startled. "What about you?" She looked at Ranko. "You said you were born a girl, but you mentioned you had a curse. Ryoga felt it was worse than his own. Do you turn into a guy?"

Ranko turned a little red. She had done this before, though. And obviously these were all people who would understand. "I was born a girl, but when I was four years old, my father took me to Happousai. I assume you all know who Happousai is."

There was a chorus of "Yeahs" and nods all around. "Father... my father, Genma Saotome, had always wanted a son, so he could join the schools of Anything Goes and have a son to marry one of Souun Tendou's daughters."

All versions of Ranma and Akane scowled. "Anyway, he and Souun asked Happousai about it, and he said that he could give them sons, if they would bring him one of their daughters. Father thought he meant he would give them a son AS WELL as a daughter. But Happousai used a magic spell to turn me into a boy."

Ranko had started to sob, and her Akane wrapped her arms around her. Her Ryoga had taken her hand as well. The rest of the room was spellbound, not daring to make a sound. "I spent twelve years of my life believing I was a boy. With Father drumming it into my head that I had to be a man amongst men. He thought he was helping me, trying to make me proud to be male. But by the time he found out about Jusenkyou I was so screwed up that it only made things worse. I hated myself, I couldn't stand being a man, and yet having a female body was the worst nightmare I had ever had to endure."

Ryoga clutched her hand a little tighter. "I could never blame Ranko for making my life 'Hell' after hearing that. I've seen Hell... in her eyes, and what I went through was nothing compared to that."

Quite a few of the Akanes in the room were glancing subtly at their Ranmas, without trying to make it look too obvious. The men were looking a little subdued. Ranko swallowed to regain control of her sobs, and continued.

"Anyway, in the end it turns out that Happousai's spell and the Jusenkyou magic cancelled each other out. Happousai's spell was cheesy magic, and it broke down under the combined effect of the curse, and some special water I used to lock it. Eventually, I became a girl full time, and it's what I wanted to be." The sun seemed to have come up in her face as she smiled. "I was scared, but... Sis helped me through it," she gave her Akane a small smile, "and I finally was able to relax and be myself. To be me."

"So that's what you meant," the Akane in the dress said, to her double in the gi, "that he makes you uncomfortable. You thought your Ranma's male form was gone forever..."

Ranko's Akane nodded. "I was... well, I think I was starting to fall in love with him. But it always felt so WRONG. I'm glad I found out the truth when I did." She gave Akane's Ranma a sideways glance, biting her lip. "I was able to realize that what I felt... was a different kind of bond. Sisters."

"Twin sisters..." Ranko muttered quietly, with a small sob. "... deeper even than blood..." Ranma and Ukyo glanced at each other, and their eyes had turned a little misty as well.

"Kinda like us", Ukyo said, wrapping her arm around her Ranma. The others looked over at the brother and sister pair, and the obvious closeness between them. "We are twin sisters, part of the time..."

"I ain't your sister," Ranma grumbled, and Ukyo stuck her tongue out at him.

Ranko wiped at her eyes, still emotional over her own story. "You... when Pops asked you if you liked Ucchan or okonomiyaki better... you said Ucchan, huh?"

Ranma nodded. He noticed the grief in Ranko's expression, and made a guess. "You said okonomiyaki, didn't you?"

When Ranko burst into tears, Ukyo rushed over to hug her. Ranma looked at his other doubles. "You too?" They all nodded, looking a bit hurt as well.

"It's okay," Ukyo said, to the redhead in her arms. "You were just kids. Ranchan didn't know any better either, he didn't know he was picking me over food, it was just a game to him."

Ranma put an arm around his sister's shoulder, and drew Ranko into his embrace as well. "Don't feel bad. Ucchan is my Sis. She's got my body, and I've got hers. She'll always be a part of me." He glanced over at Akane, who took his hand. "How I feel for Akane will never change that."

"How I feel for Akane or Ryouga will never change that either," Ranko said. She sobbed for a few more moments. "That other Ukyou in that other world... the one I went to. It broke my heart seeing how lonely she is. How lonely she must have been, living all those years as a lie. My own Ukyo... I just wish I hadn't hurt her like that. That WE hadn't hurt her like that..."

Behind them, the two remaining Ranmas and Akanes that were not involved glanced at each other guiltily.

As Ranko regained control of herself, the Ranma holding her turned back to his counterpart, their host in the room. "So what's your story? You just turn into a girl, not Sis or Akane, just a girl. So you went to Jusenkyo alone? And fell in the Spring of Drowned Girl?"

Ranma nodded. "Yep, as Ranko said I went on a training trip with Pop, except I was six, not four. And I wasn't a girl to start." He frowned, looking a bit green. "And like you, I met Ucchan, but Pops dumped her."

"That sounds like the story of the other Ranma that I met." Ranko wiped her eyes. "His life and mine were pretty much identical from when I was six until I met my mother again."

"And my Ranchan's life was the same, even though he had me along," Ukyo said. "What about when you met Akane, you thought you were a guy at the time, right? At least the Old Man didn't..." She paused a moment, putting a hand to her forehead. "What I am saying, this is the panda we're talking about. Of course he tried to force you to marry her..."

Ranko and her Akane both frowned deeply at that. "Yeah, and we were both so uncomfortable with it. We fought all the time. Our first meeting was even a disaster. We bumped into each other in the furo and... well... I didn't know I was really a girl, Akane hated boys at the time and... heh..." she smiled wryly. "We were both naked."

No one looked surprised at that. "Same thing happened to me. I had to fight to keep the two of them from killing each other," Ukyo said with a grin.

Her Ranma snorted. "I seem to remember YOU were the one that hit me with a table..."

Ranko rubbed her head. "Ow. That happened to me, too... except Akane was the one that hit me."

The Akane with the pigtail giggled. "Makes me glad I'd already seen you before we got cursed. I didn't hit you with a table, but with the stupid questions you were asking while I was trying to tell you about... well, you know... I was ready to hit you a few times."

"I did still walk in on you in the bath," added the Ranma in blue, with a sheepish look. "Although I'm glad you were too tired to hit me. You were still so sick from being in that coma, though, I sure wasn't gonna make you mad."

There was a momentary lull in the conversation, after which Ranko looked thoughtful. "There are some basic similarities to the story, aren't there?" She glanced over at their hosts. "The furo, and the fight afterwards. I guess that happened to you too, huh?"

That Ranma and Akane had been staring at each other for a few moments. Finally, Akane spoke up. "Actually... that's when we kinda had the plan."

"Plan? What plan?"

"To... uh... pretend to hate each other." She glanced around at her duplicates and their fiance's. "See... uh... I..." She looked at the floor, blushing. "I knocked."

"You knocked?" Ranko smiled a little.

The dark haired girl nodded. "I heard Ranma moving around in the furoba, and he called out in his male voice. I didn't recognize it, so I got worried. He turned himself back into a girl, and I decided to go get a towel."

She glanced at her Ranma. "We didn't see each other naked." Well, not until later, she thought. And by then we had come up with the plan. It still bothered her that she had lost her temper so easily, but Ranma had decided that the red mark from her slap would make a great reminder of how much they "hated" each other.

"That must have been helpful," Ukyo put in. "I wasn't even able to stop it, they only saw each other for a second, but I was a bit caught off guard, too. It took me a few seconds to pull Akane back out of the room, and by then she was ready to start breaking stuff." She grinned at the memory, though.

Ranma nodded. "Yeah, I'm guessin' all of you, you all got off on the wrong foot, but Akane and I didn't. Did you guys really fight like that all the time?"

Just about everyone in the room blushed deeply. Ranko smiled as she replied, though. "I'm pretty sure we were all repressing our true feelings. I really wanted a friend, whether I was a girl, inside, really had nothing to do with it. I was just really lonely. And Akane still remembered me from when we were kids." She looked around at the dark haired martial artists, the one in the gi smiling back at her widely. "Apparently that's not true of all of you, but if I know my Akane, and I do, she was really wanting a friend, too."

"So, the fights me and my Ranma pretended to have, they were for real for you?" There were nods all around. "I guess I can understand that," Akane said with a smile. "I did tell Ranma if he had seen me naked I would have killed him. It could have been worse."

"It could have been MUCH worse," the Akane in blue said, with an impish look on her cute face. "At least he didn't walk in on you AGAIN like mine did..."

"She still slapped me like the uncute tomboy she is," the Ranma that shared his curse with Ukyo said. "Not that I didn't deserve worse." He hugged Akane, and then gave her a quick kiss. Because everyone was so distracted by seeing that romantic gesture, no one noticed their hosts glance at each other and blush, from memories of their own.

"Well, I guess it's nice to know that we can all get over it," Ranko said. "None of us seem to be acting that way anymore."

"No, but it wasn't easy" the Akane in blue said, her voice regretful. "It took a long time, and a lot of work. And a lot of pain..." She looked up into Ranma's eyes, comforted by the feel of being held in his arms, and kissed him back. "But I'm glad I finally decided to trust the baka."

That got a laugh out of the other three Akanes. Ranko gave a tight hug of her own to the one in the gi. "We really had a time of it too, didn't we, Sis? But I couldn't have made it through without you. I wouldn't have become... me... if you hadn't been there for me. And I love you, Sis."

There was a chorus of "Aww" from the women in the room, the other Akanes and Ukyo. The Ranma who shared his hairstyle with his Akane clasped her hand. "I'm glad I met my Akane, too. I wasn't sure at first, but I dunno if I could have dealt with the curse without her. She's the only one who can understand what it's like... except for you guys, I guess."

Timidly, as if unsure if he should, he hugged his Akane. She looked up at him, startled. "And she really loves The Art," he said. "Just like I do. We... we share so much." Akane looked deeply touched by his admission, and looked around at the others, obviously shy and hesitant, but finally planted a small kiss on her Ranma's cheek.

"How did you two end up falling in the spring together?" The Ranma who turned into Ukyo asked.

That Akane blushed deeply and looked away. "Should I not tell them?" Ranma asked. "We've never told anyone what really happened..."

The girl with the pigtail looked up at him. "No... go ahead. These people are... us..." She looked around at the faces around her, her own and the man that she shared her body and soul with, the man she was slowly growing to love. They all smiled back at her. "We can trust... ourselves... I'm sure."

She paused a moment, then hugged her male counterpart. "In fact... why don't I tell it? It's been the Ranmas telling the story so far, let's be a little different..."

"Okay," Ranma agreed. He gave her a little squeeze. Ranko and Ukyo had both looked thoughtful, at Akane using the same phrase that had been on this room's plaque, but eventually dismissed it as coincidence.

"It all started with Kuno," Akane said. "If you guys all have Ukyo and Ryoga in your universes, I'm guessing you have Kuno as well."

The Akanes all nodded. One piped up, "He made that same announcement didn't he, that no boy was worthy to date you unless he beat you in combat. So you had all the guys at school attacking you every morning."

"Exactly." It was obvious that this was well known. "Anyway, it was about a day before Ranma arrived at Jusenkyo, although I didn't know that at the time. It had been raining, and I fought the boys as usual, and then fought Kuno. It seemed just like every other day. But somehow... I slipped on the wet grass."

Her face fell, both remembering the pain of that moment, and what followed, and the humiliation of her defeat. "Kuno noticed at the last minute that he was going to hit me, and tried to pull the blow, but he wasn't fast enough. He struck me across the head, and cut me very badly across the forehead. There was... there was damage to my brain, and I fell into a coma..."

The audience was now staring, wide-eyed. "I didn't know that at the time, though," Akane continued. "I woke up, and I was in a dark place, unable to move. I was frightened, terrified, and I started calling out for help. That's when my eyes opened, and I started looking around, and I could hear a voice talking to me. I eventually realized that it was coming from me, but it wasn't my voice, it was Ranma. Somehow, I had ended up inside his mind, and was seeing through his eyes."

"Yeah, I woke up with this voice in my head, and she was really freakin' out, too." Ranma said. "It took me a while ta calm her down. She told me her story, and I told her where I was. I was on a trainin' trip with my Pops, and we were goin' to this training grounds of Jusenkyo the next day."

"So when you arrived at Jusenkyo, Akane was in your head," Ranko guessed.

"That's right." Akane took her Ranma's hand, and he gave it a reassuring squeeze. "When we fell in, we both realized we had turned into a girl. Then, when I got a look at myself, I realized Ranma had turned into me." She lowered her head, and Ranma put an arm around her. "I was sure I was dead. I had thought so before, but now I was convinced of it. I had died, and somehow Ranma had been given my body, and I would have to live the rest of my life in it, unable to control my motions or words or anything, just a prisoner in my own body..."

She had started to tremble, and Ranma held her tighter. The Akane in blue, the one that had come with Ukyo put an arm around her as well. When it was obvious she couldn't continue, Ranma picked up the story. "Anyway, eventually we found out hot water reversed the curse. But Akane was still in a bad way. She wouldn't talk ta me or nothin'. I talked to Pop, and since Akane had said somethin' about her Pops training her in Anything Goes, I asked him about it. He said that yeah, he had a friend named Soun Tendo, and he was gonna take me to see him someday."

A look of annoyance flickered across his face. "Of course, I didn't realize he was gonna take me there ta MARRY Akane, but I wanted to see what had happened to her, so I talking him into taking us back. And he figured it was a good time, so he had his own reasons for goin'."

Ranma looked down at Akane, who seemed to have calmed down, so he let her continue. "When I got home, his father had told Ranma about the engagement, so I wasn't exactly happy. Ranma and I..." She glanced at him apologetically, "Ranma and I kinda had a fight about it..."

"I'll bet you did," said the Akane that was still holding her. She smiled mischievously at her Ranma, and he stuck out his tongue. The exchange seemed to lighten the other Akane's mood.

"Anyway, we both decided to just forget about the engagement. The thing now was to find out what happened to me, and show my family his curse, without freaking them out. I didn't want them to know about me..." Her face fell again, "I didn't want them to worry about me, living half a life while they were still grieving about me. But I knew Ranma couldn't avoid changing, and I wanted them to find out before it happened by accident..."

"Yeah," Ranma agreed. "I suppose I aughtta say that since Akane an' me travelled so much that first few weeks, bein' together all the time, that she knew how the curse worked an' all right from the start. Better than me, really. And she... uh... she..." he turned pink, glancing at her, but then swallowed. "Well, she kinda... um... showed me what I had ta do with a girl's body. Ya know... ta take care of it. The stuff I had to buy and stuff..."

Most of the Ranmas in the room looked confused, but Ranko turned beet red. Ukyo also blushed a bit. She commented, "I'm glad I was never stuck in your head, Ranchan."

"There would be plenty of room for you in there," his Akane said.

Her Ranma pouted. "You are SO uncute!"

She countered with a smile that left every Ranma in the room dazzled. "And you love me for it."

"You bet I do." He kissed her, so deeply that the other two Ranmas and their Akanes glanced away, shocked by this passionate display. They then happened to glance at each other, blushed deeply, and looked away again.

After an awkward moment of silence, the pigtailed Akane continued, more to overcome her embarrassment than anything else. "Anyway, everyone was really sad and unhappy, especially Nabiki, and Father was trying to be nice, but I could tell his heart wasn't in it. Ranma's father, of course, was being a blind jerk about the whole thing, still trying to push Ranma on the marriage. But we found out I wasn't dead, that I was in a coma, a coma from which it looked like I might never wake up."

She paused a moment and sighed. "Which, really, wouldn't have been much better. It was Nabiki that I was really worried about, though. She looked like she hadn't slept in weeks, and she volunteered, right then and there, to take my place as the Tendo heir, and marry Ranma. To carry on the dojo for me..."

"Nabiki?" one of the Akanes asked, incredulous.

Akane nodded. "It turns out, she felt it was her fault that I got hurt, because she was selling pictures of me to Kuno. And betting on the fights." She turned a little pink, but from the looks that went around the room it was obvious this was a surprise to no one. "She was so consumed with guilt that she had given up all of her plots and moneymaking schemes. And... and..."

She paused a moment. "She had tried to kill herself." There was a look of stunned astonishment from the others.

"Anyway, the moment we revealed Ranma's curse to her, she really freaked out. She grabbed Ranma, and insisted that we go right to the hospital. She was sure that somehow, Ranma turning into me meant that he had been sent to save me. Or something. Of course, I knew that in a way, I was there, and Ranma was bringing me back to my body. But we had no idea if it would do any good."

She paused again, and now Akane was really starting to blush. It was very obvious that she didn't want to admit to the next part. "When we got to my bed, I was... well, I was pretty bad off. You could see the wound on my head, it had been stitched up, but it looked awful. And I was pale and had all these machines to keep me breathing and stuff. And... and Ranma and I couldn't think of anything. But then... then..." her blush deepened. "Nabiki suggested that... um... Ranma kiss me."

There was dead silence for a second. Then Ranko gave a huge grin. "Don't tell me. The Prince's kiss awakened the fair Princess..."

Akane put her head in her hands. Her Ranma shouted, "It wasn't like that!", turning just as red as she was.

"I'd say I was going to be sick," Ranko's Akane said, her smile as wide as her sister's, "if that wasn't the most romantic thing I've ever heard."

Ukyo leaned over and whispered, a bit too loudly, "No wonder she was blushing so bad at my Bro's tongue fencing."

Her Akane protested, "We were not!" She then blushed, and all three girls broke up giggling.

"All right, all right, it worked." The pigtailed Akane was starting to grin as well, although she was still crimson. "I woke up. But we found out... when Father spilled some water on me, we found out I had inherited the curse as well. Somehow... the curse reflected off my spirit or something, and it caused me to turn into a boy... into Ranma."

"So that's why you decided to wear the same clothes, and make your hairstyle the same?" Ukyo asked. "So it wouldn't be changing all the time?"

Akane shook her head. "No, our hairstyle wouldn't change when we changed, that's what gave away that I was Akane and he was Ranma. We wanted to look like each other." She glanced at Ranma, smiling mischievously. "I wanted to have some fun with it, you know... make people think I was Ranma, and he was me."

"But wouldn't that have put you in danger!" protested Ukyo's Ranma, and the Ranma from this room nodded his agreement.

Her Ranma scowled. "I tried to warn her. But she wouldn't listen..."

"It was both good and bad. It helped me find out about Ryoga..." She glanced at the Ryoga in the room, "The one from my universe, anyway, and we pulled some pretty funny jokes on Father and Mr. Saotome. On the other hand, it was dangerous." She glanced over at Ranma. "But that helped me convince this jerk to stop treating me like a baby and train me."

The Akane in blue cut her eyes over at her Ranma. He glanced at the floor, looking uncomfortable. Ranko looked between the two of them, then at her own Akane. The gi-clad girl raised an eyebrow as she smirked back at her. Then the red head turned to look at the others in the room.

"So... what convinced you Ranmas to start training your Akanes. Or are you still feeding her that 'I don't fight girls' crap?"

Ukyo's Ranma looked away, blushing. "It was never crap."

Ranko studied him for a moment. "It wasn't?"

His Akane took a deep breath. "He doesn't like fighting either me or Ucchan. It becomes too difficult for him to ignore that he's hurting us."

The red head's mouth opened slightly, and she studied him. She looked back at her Akane to find her watching both of them. "Is that true?"

Ranma nodded. "I can ignore it with anyone else. I'm a man, men are supposed to take it. Even women... if they're martial artists... But Ucchan..." His voice fell to a whisper, while Ukyo stared at him, looking concerned. Apparently, this was a surprise to her. "And Akane too. It just... hurts... in a place I can't ignore."

There was a short silence, and Ranma looked up to see Ranko smirking at him with an eyebrow raised. "Not THAT!" He protested. Then, with a wicked smirk more like his natural self, he added, "Well, except when she kicks me in it. The uncute tomboy does have a tendency to do that a lot."

"I do NOT!" Akane snapped back, suddenly surprisingly upset. "It was just that one time and..." She turned red, "I said I was sorry..."

Ranma chuckled and took her in his arms. "Just kidding."

"Baka." Akane pouted.

Ranko looked thoughtful. Then she glanced at their host, a silent question. He shrugged. "I never did feel that way. Sure, the panda kept saying it, but he's a moron." He looked at Akane. "Of course, in front of him I said it. But we snuck away to train. Where no one could see.

"I ain't gonna do that crazy fool stuff Pop did to me ta train Akane, though. I'll hit her, but it's not like I'm a sadistic monster."

"That's good," she said, still looking thoughtful. She looked at the remaining Ranma. "And you?"

He looked at his Akane. "I guess I do feel that way, some." She looked surprised by the admission. "Honestly, I didn't think about WHY I didn't want to fight Akane. I just knew I didn't, and I just did whatever I could to force it aside, so she wouldn't be hurt when my enemies came after her."

"Hm... you were with him in China, so I guess you were there when he fought Shampoo, huh?"

His Akane nodded. "Yeah. She ended up giving me the Kiss of Marriage, too. But she kind of ran out of steam when she realized we both turned into each other. Cologne seemed to think it was too much trouble telling us apart, and just gave up."

"It wish it could have turned out that way for us..." the Akane in blue commented, glancing at her Ukyo.

Their Ranma nodded in agreement. "Despite what the old panda taught us, I guess deep down we know it's wrong ta hurt people. Either by fighting or hurtin' their feelings..."

Ranko turned back to that Ranma. "I've always hated fighting, since I was a little girl. I love sparring with Akane, and it's always fun to push her and myself to our limits. But hurting people... I can't do it. Even when I was a guy, it was one of those things that made it a nightmare, made me hate myself and everything I stood for. And of course... because *I* was hurting so badly... I could feel how badly I hurt other people." Her eyes lowered to the floor. "... and hated myself even more."

Ranma was watching her, with wide eyes. "Maybe even, being a guy, you still feel that, a bit." Ranko said. "It's just, only Akane, or in your case, Akane and Ukyo, matter so much to you that it becomes too strong to ignore."

He nodded. "That sounds about right." His Akane put her hand on his shoulder, and he smiled at her. "She's got Ucchan, though, and Ucchan's got her. So they're both really good. I know I don't haveta worry about either of 'em."

The Akane in the gi gave a soft chuckle. "It's my Ranko that I worry about and protect. And train as hard as I can, so I can be there for her. And Shampoo and my Ucchan as well, we all train together. We may not be as strong as you, Ranma, but we fight together. And so far it's worked out fine."

"I wonder which of us is the best..." the Akane in blue asked, with a twinkle in her eye.

The one in the gi smirked back at her. "I train with Uncle Saotome an hour every day..."

"That stupid panda? Are you sure he's not doing more harm than good?" Her double grinned wickedly.

"You want to find out?"

"All right, all right," Ranko looked very amused, but put a hand on both Akanes' shoulders. "There's no room for a sparring session here. Maybe once we find a gym or an exercise room in this place..."

The Akane in blue had cracked her knuckles. "I train with Ucchan now, as Ranma said, and she grew up with the panda." She was obviously sizing her duplicate up. "But training directly with him, you might have the better conditioning."

Her rival studied her, with a smile. "You're reading my ki, aren't you? Did Ukyou teach you that?"

"Maybe..."

"This could actually be pretty fun." The Ranma in blue tapped his red headed counterpart on the shoulder. "I bet it'd be cool to see how we stand up to each other, too."

Ranko shook her head, waving a hand at him. "I'll tell you the same thing I told my counterpart in the other world I went to. I don't devote myself to martial arts all the time the way you do. I'm probably WAY behind all of you..."

This led to a shocked gasp from almost everyone in the room. "You don't practice martial arts anymore?"

Ranko sighed. "Okay, looks like I have a few more stories to tell..."

* * *

><p>Author's Notes<p>

This chapter, of course, introduces MZephyr's mutually cursed Ranma and Akane from "Side by Side", a definate inspiration for the shared curse of "The Saotome Sisters". As that story is still in work, I am treating his Ranma and Akane as if they have accepted their relationship, but haven't quite progressed as far as my version of the couple. So the more forward interplay between my Ranma and Akane is really embarrassing to their duplicates. :D I also had to guess at how the Shampoo situation would be resolved, since "Side by Side" never even got past Cologne's arrival.

There's yet another spoiler for "The Saotome Sisters" in here, in that Ranma explains why he won't hit Akane. I don't go into detail, but I do note how I based it on Ranko's feelings in "Genma's Daughter". Ranko isn't Ranma, though, or at least she's not entirely Ranma, which is why it's so much more powerful for her, that she would actually give up her focus on martial arts entirely. And note my Ranma from "A Little Different" doesn't feel it at all, at least not consciously. So it could just be "Saotome Sisters" Ranma, as I say in that story.

I had been hesitating to post this until I completed a third chapter, but... I'm bored, and my Muse is pouting and being difficult, and this is something already written. And I've been thinking of posting it. So I may put up a third chapter some time, but not if my Muse gets off her butt and gets back to "Saotome Sisters". I wouldn't work on the story any more than that anyway until I've finished my other story. So for now, this is going to sit unfinished.

Also, it's obvious that I'm going to have to split up the existing groups as they encounter more of their alternate versions, as distinguishing which Ranma or Akane I am talking about it getting to be a challenge. :D Having them dressed in different outfits or pointing out differences like Ranma turning into Ukyo instead of Ranko is also working, but I don't want to overdo it. I honestly have any number of directions I could go with this, but at this point I'm just making it up as I go along.

Oh, also this story is SUPPOSED to be comedy, despite all the seriousness in this chapter. But I expect it to get funnier as some of the more outlandish versions of Ranma 1/2 begin to show up.


End file.
